Part 18 (2/2)

An admirable composition, not liquid like our ink, but solid, and made into cakes so It is , and about an inch thick; soures of birds, flowers, &c To use this ink, it must be rubbed ater, on stone or earthenware, till it produces a beautiful, liquid, shi+ning black It is used in drawing, &c, and is brought frolue, or gum, to which perfumes and other substances are sometimes added

CHAPTER X

ASBESTUS, SALT, COAL, IRON, COPPER, BRass, ZINC, AND LAPIS CALAMINARIS

What is the name of the remarkable stone of which a cloth has been made, that resists the action of fire?

The Asbestus, a mineral substance of a whitish or silver color There are several species of thisto the appearance of each, as fibrous asbestus, hard asbestus, and woody asbestus; it is the fibrous sort which is most noted for its uses in the arts It is usually found inclosed within very hard stones; so on their outside, and sometimes detached from them

_Fibrous_, full of fibres or threads

What are its qualities?

It is insipid; will not dissolve in water; and exposed to the fire, it neither consumes nor calcines The industry ofupon this untowardcloth and paper; the process is, however, difficult

_Insipid_, without taste

Was not this curious mineral better known to the ancients than it is at present?

The linen hly esteemed by the us, being equally valuable with the richest pearls; but the superiority of all other cloths to this in every respect, except the resistance to fire, has caused incoarded in modern times merely as a curiosity, but it is still employed in che undestroyed in fire

To what use did they put it?

In royal funerals, it forht be prevented fro with the wood, &c, that composed the pile Some of the ancientsthe Hindoos; it formed wicks for their perpetual lamps; thread, ropes, nets, and paper were also made of it

Pliny, the Roman naturalist, says he has seen napkins of asbestus taken soiled from the table after a feast, which were thrown into the fire, and by that means better scoured than if they had been washed ater

_Naturalist_, a person who studies nature, especially in what relates to etables, and animals

_Brahmins_, Hindoo priests

Where is the Asbestus found?

This reatest quantity in the silver , in Carinthia; in Sweden, Corsica, and soland, and the United States; also in Tartary and Siberia

Whatthe Asbestus?